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HeX and the single anthill: playing games with Aunt Hillary

Bishop, J. M., Nasuto, S. J., Tanay, T., Roesch, E. B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8913-4173 and Spencer, M. C. (2016) HeX and the single anthill: playing games with Aunt Hillary. In: Müller, V. C. (ed.) Fundamental Issues of Artificial Intelligence. Synthese Library, 376 (376). Springer, pp. 369-390. ISBN 9783319264837

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-26485-1_22

Abstract/Summary

In a reflective and richly entertaining piece from 1979, Doug Hofstadter playfully imagined a conversation between ‘Achilles’ and an anthill (the eponymous ‘Aunt Hillary’), in which he famously explored many ideas and themes related to cognition and consciousness. For Hofstadter, the anthill is able to carry on a conversation because the ants that compose it play roughly the same role that neurons play in human languaging; unfortunately, Hofstadter’s work is notably short on detail suggesting how this magic might be achieved. Conversely in this paper – finally reifying Hofstadter’s imagination – we demonstrate how populations of simple ant-like creatures can be organised to solve complex problems; problems that involve the use of forward planning and strategy. Specifically we will demonstrate that populations of such creatures can be configured to play a strategically strong – though tactically weak – game of HeX (a complex strategic game). We subsequently demonstrate how tactical play can be improved by introducing a form of forward planning instantiated via multiple populations of agents; a technique that can be compared to the dynamics of interacting populations of social insects via the concept of meta-population. In this way although, pace Hofstadter, we do not establish that a meta-population of ants could actually hold a conversation with Achilles, we do successfully introduce Aunt Hillary to the complex, seductive charms of HeX.

Item Type:Book or Report Section
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Department of Bio-Engineering
ID Code:67218
Publisher:Springer

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